Redirecting a print job

Abstract

In an example, a method is disclosed for redirecting a print job. The method includes monitoring status of a plurality of printers on a network, determining that a first printer of the plurality of printers that is responsible for a print job is not suitable for processing the print job, and selecting a second printer of the plurality of printers to process the print job. The method further includes generating a flow table modification message for a network flow corresponding to the print job to redirect the network flow to the second printer and sending the flow table modification message to a network device on the network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for redirecting a print job, comprising, by a processor:
 monitoring status of a plurality of printers on a network;   determining that a first printer of the plurality of printers that is responsible for a print job is not suitable for processing the print job;   selecting a second printer of the plurality of printers to process the print job;   generating a flow table modification message to redirect a network flow corresponding to the print job to the second printer; and   sending the flow table modification message to a network device on the network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein monitoring status of a plurality of printers on the network comprises receiving updates regarding status of each of the plurality of printers. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the updates regarding status comprise at least one of consumable status, mechanical status, and availability of the printer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the updates regarding status are received from the printers or from a program external to the printers that is responsible for monitoring status of the printers. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining that a first printer that is responsible for a print job is not an ideal candidate for processing the print job comprises determining that the first printer is currently incapable of processing the print job to completion. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying a second printer of the plurality of printers to process the print job comprises determining that the second printer is able to process the print job better than the first printer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second printer is only selected if the second printer is within a vicinity of the first printer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the user is notified if a second printer with the same features as the first printer is unavailable and is provided with an option of printers with similar features to choose from. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second printer is only selected if the second printer is a member of a same printer group as the first printer, wherein printers are grouped into printer group based on at least one of location and printer features. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the second printer is selected in part based on an identity of a user that requested the print job. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 notifying a user that requested the print job of the redirection of the print job to the second printer.   
     
     
         12 . A controller for a software defined network, comprising:
 a status module to monitor status of multiple printers on the software defined network;   a printer selection module to select a second printer to process a print job originally directed to a first printer;   a flow table module to generate a flow table modification message for a network flow corresponding to the print job to redirect the network flow to the second printer; and   a notification module to notify a user that requested the print job of the redirection of the print job to the second printer.   
     
     
         13 . The controller of  claim 12 , further comprising a printer group module to group printers into multiple groups based on at least one of location and printer features, wherein the printer selection module is to select the second printer from a same group as the first printer. 
     
     
         14 . The controller of  claim 12 , further comprising a user group module to group users into multiple groups based on at least one of location, role, and access privilege. 
     
     
         15 . The controller of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a mobile device printing module to:
 receive a print job from a mobile device; 
 identify a network device in the software defined network to which the mobile device is connected; 
 instruct the printer selection module to select a printer within a vicinity of the network device that is capable of processing the print job from the mobile device; 
 instruct the flow table module to generate a flow table modification message to direct a network flow corresponding to the print job from the mobile device to the selected printer; and 
 send the flow table modification message to direct the network flow corresponding to the print job from the mobile device to the identified network device. 
   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 determine that a first printer responsible for a print job is unable to process the print job;   select a second printer to process the print job;   generate a flow table modification message to redirect a network flow corresponding to the print job from the first printer to the second printer; and   send the flow table modification message to a network device on the network.